Endwar:Mission Supports
In EndWar, mission supports refers to the off-map supports that a player can use in a game. These can be used as long as the player has enough command points, and in some cases, one or more upgraded uplinks that provide that support.
Overview
There are six mission supports that are available in total in the game, of which three require upgraded uplinks (Air Strike, Force Recon, Electronic Warfare), and two require that DEFCON 1 has been reached (WMD,Crash Uplink). The other, Forward Command, requires only that the player controls any given uplink on the map.
Uplink-provided supports
These supports differ from the others in that they have different "levels" that can be unlocked and used in battle for an additional cost of CP. They must be purchased in the barracks before being used, with the exception of Air Strike Level 1 which is granted to all players from the start. In order to make use of them, the player must have at least one uplink in his control and upgraded specifically to allow for the support they wish to use. Higher levels of the support can only be called if the player has more than one uplink upgraded for the same support. (I.e., for Force Recon Level 2, the player must have two separate uplinks upgraded to Force Recon at the same time)
Electronic Warfare
The player utilizes an EMP strike to temporarily stop enemy vehicles, removing their shields and preventing them from attacking, moving or receiving orders for the duration of the EMP. It also temporarily disables the enemy's map. This support costs 3, 4 and 5 CP for each of its levels respectively. It is the only uplink-provided support that does not require an army/airforce base in range of the battlefield on the Theater of War - it can be used on any battlefield as long as the player has uplinks that are upgraded for it.
Because this support targets a specific enemy vehicle and takes effect instantly but does no lasting damage, it is often mistaken as a lesser form of air strike. However, due to its lower cost, the guaranteed damage of removing the enemy's shields regardless of cover and its ability to actually stop an enemy unit in its tracks, it can be far more useful than the airstrike when the player already has units engaged and/or must buy time. This is especially true for levels 2 and 3, where the player can affect more than one enemy unit with the EMP, for a significant period of time. It is important to have units engaging the target of the EMP, so as to take full advantage of both their lack of shielding and their immobility. Additionally, an enemy unit affected by the EMP will "forget" its orders and have to be re-ordered once the effect wears off (it will still engage any hostile in range).
While Electronic Warfare has no effect whatsoever on enemy infantry, it will successfully disrupt the enemy map no matter where it's placed. Using it on the enemy's command vehicle will also disable sitrep imaging. Unlike Air Strike, Electronic Warfare cannot inflict friendly fire. Enemy landmines can also be detected and destroyed by EMP blasts.
Force Recon
The player can order the deployment of regular army units at a target location. Deployment of these units is much slower than regular deployment as the army units do not have access to transport helicopters and travel there from the edge of the map behind the friendly deployment zone. Level 1 costs 3 CP to use and is a fast attack vehicle unit and an infantry unit. Level 2 provides this plus 2 tank units, whereas level 3 adds in an additional infantry and FAV unit, at a cost of 4 and 5 CP, respectively. This support must be purchased at the barracks before the player can upgrade uplinks to allow it.
Individually, these units should pose no problem to player-controlled units unless they are the hard counter to that unit (i.e., regular army tanks won't stand a chance against the player's tank unit, but the player can easily lose transports and riflemen to them). As a result, Force Recon Level 1 is capable generally of deterring only enemy gunships and engineers whereas level 2 can put pressure on a position, as the tanks can actually do damage while the FAV unit covers them against gunships. Levels 2 and 3 are sometimes ordered directly to the enemy's deployment zone for the purpose of harassment. However, since Level 3 is the equivalent of Level 2 + Level 1, most players will not bother to upgrade the third uplink for Force Recon, and simply order two Force Recons in quick succession. There is also the benefit of putting to L2 task forces in two different locations whereas there is only one L3 that can be sent to a single location. This costs 3 more CP, but that may be acceptable depending on the situation.
Air Strike
All players have access to the first level of this support. The player can direct a one-off attack against any position or enemy unit, and inflict damage that ignores shields. At level 1, the damage done is 25% of the total HP if shielded and costs 4 CP. Level 2 costs 5 CP, tends to inflict 50% total HP damage and can easily damage more than one unit in close proximity. Level 3 is also capable of disabling a healthy unit instantly or outright killing an unshielded or weakened target for 6 CP. Remember that eyes-on are needed to ensure that the air strike will make its mark.
Air Strike is quite useful when targeting enemy artillery, as the player can place a rally point over the enemy unit and use that as the target for the air strike even after they've lost sight of the unit. However, artillery behind some form of cover may be protected, depending on from what angle the air strike is directed. The use of SITREP increases the likelihood of a successful air strike.
These should be used sparingly, as the cost of a single level-1 airstrike is equivalent to the cost of deploying a new unit. Essentially, each air strike is a unit that isn't on the map, so it is important not to waste air strikes on units that you can disable or fend off otherwise. This is doubly true in DEFCON, where the cost of deployment is halved, but the cost of mission supports is not.
DEFCON supports
These supports can be used by any player, regardless of barracks purchases, uplinks held, or game mode. They immediately become available to the losing side of a given battle once DEFCON is reached. They cannot be upgraded in the Barracks.
WMD
This is the typical last-resort huge-explosion support. It instantly disables any units within its blast radius and
can destroy uplinks instantly. If a unit is caught in its radius without shields, they will be killed outright regardless of HP. This will also destroy buildings, and if any infantry are garrisoned within, they will be killed as well. The blast area is slightly larger than a 2x2 section of the SITREP map, and can therefore easily destroy multiple enemy units at once.
This support has a caveat in that once it is used, the winning side will be able to retaliate in kind. Therefore it is wise to choose the moment of use carefully, and to spread units out as much as possible once it is used. WMDs take a long time to become available for a second time, so it is rare to see more than one use by either side in a given game. If there are several units in close proximity to each other at the beginning of DEFCON, there is a strong change that a WMD will be used immediately.
Crash
Unlike WMD, this support can only be used by the losing side and the winning side does not get access to it. This allows for the player to permanently and completely disable an uplink on the map. The uplink building itself will still be there, and units can still take cover near it if it hasn't been destroyed, but it will no longer count towards the number of uplinks a player controls, cannot be captured or targeted, and will no longer provide support of any kind, but any sentry units guarding the uplink before the crash will not be affected and continue to guard the area until destroyed.
In Conquest, this support is extremely pivotal as it affects the number of uplinks a player controls. On maps with an odd number of uplinks, the winning side will cease to have the majority of uplinks once one is removed (e.g., if a map has 5 uplinks, and the winning side has 3 out of 5 under their control, Crash will reduce this to 2 out of 4, which is no longer a majority, halting the countdown until the either side can capture another uplink).
Forward Command
While expensive at 6 CP, Forward Command is perhaps among the most useful supports in the game. By using it and designating a friendly uplink, the player can change their units' deployment zone to that uplink. This is incredibly powerful as it allows for rapid reinforcement of the front lines, but the cost must be taken into consideration. For Russian players, this is an invaluable tool for compensating for their lack of speed.
If the uplink serving as the deployment zone is captured or crashed, it will revert to the default deployment zone at one corner of the map. Therefore use this support wisely; it would be unwise to use it on the most forward uplink possible, as that is most likely to be taken and thus the most likely to waste 6 CP.
This support also serves as a somewhat effective counter to the enemy sending high-level Force Recon to the deployment zone, and can provide a way to flank the enemy when they have units stationed at the landing zone picking off reinforcements as they arrive.